Contract
by Inepticon
Summary: I agreed to always love you, but never enough to set you free.


Here it is, the sequel to **By The Millionth Time****. **Sorry it took me so long to get it done. I could give you hundreds of excuses but they're not really gonna justify anything. Anyways, I hope you guys like it.

Just a heads up, the line "She was left behind again." is a reference to Beck leaving her. So with that in mind, enjoy.

* * *

"You can't leave me."

"Watch me."

"You'll never find someone like me."

"Good."

"Why are you doing this?"

She didn't bother to answer, she only continued to gather her things.

"Please, don't go.."

The tone in the other girl's voice made her stop packing her stuff in the suitcase. It sounded so needy, so desperate. So remorseful. But she knew it was an act. An elaborate facade to make her stay. And unlike the other times, it wouldn't work.

She picked up her suitcases and made her way downstairs.

"Wait! Can we at least talk about this?"

"There's nothing to talk about.."

Before her beloved disappeared through the front door, she shouted, "You can't leave me! You'll regret it! I'm one of a kind!"

But now that she was standing alone in their house, Jade knew she wasn't one of a kind. She was left behind again. She was alone.

* * *

Tori sat on Andre's couch, crying. He had agreed to let her stay at his house for a couple of days, weeks even. He didn't care how long she needed to stay, he just wanted his best friend to be happy.

"So..I guess it's finally over between you guys?"

Tori used her sleeve to wipe away her tears. "Yeah.."

Andre felt his heart clench at the sight of Tori crying. Since day one, he had a gut feeling that Tori and Jade's courtship would eventually crash and burn. He hoped that he was wrong. He hoped that they would have the happiest relationship, that they would eventually get married and have that fairy tale "happily every after" ending.

But Jade's infidelity severely damaged the chances of that happening.

"So what are you gonna do now?"

"I don't know. I haven't really thought about what's gonna happen next.."

Tori's eyes welled up with tears. She never thought that she'd have to move on with her life without Jade. The idea of it just seemed absurd. But it was happening, and she didn't know what to do.

"Hey now, don't cry anymore. Look, why don't we just have a movie night and just try to forget about the whole thing for now, how's that sound?"

Tori smiled at her friend's attempts to cheer her up. Andre had always been there for her, and she felt bad for burdening him with her problems.

Andre saw the guilty look on Tori's face and patted her on the back gently. "I know what you're thinking, you think you're being a pain the ass but you're not. You're my best friend Tor. You know I'll always be here for you."

"I know, thanks Andre. I can't tell you how much I appreciate what you're doing for me."

Andre only smiled at her and got off his couch. "I'll go order a pizza. Try to find something good to watch."

Tori nodded and began scrolling down the list of movie channels. Hopefully her movie night with Andre would keep her mind occupied, if only for a little while.

* * *

Jade lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling. The house was unbearably quiet. She had grown used to Tori's melodious voice and the sound of her soft footsteps traveling through the halls.

But she's not there anymore.

As much as Jade hated to admit it, she deserved it. Tori had put up with countless affairs. Had she been in Tori's place, Jade would have thrown her out of the house herself.

Jade looked around the room, finding it painfully empty.

Gone were Tori's outfits that filled their closet. Gone were those useless stuffed animals that littered their room. Gone were Tori's chocolate brown eyes. Gone was Tori's infectious smile.

Gone was Tori Vega.

Jade ran her hand through her hair. She didn't know what to do. She was lost. She never expected Tori to leave, and now that she was gone, she had no idea how to function without her.

What was she supposed to do now? The only thing she could think to do for the moment was to occupy her mind with other things. She had a gut feeling Tori was doing the same thing too and for some reason that comforted her. It made her feel like she was still with Tori. Like they were in sync with each other.

Like they weren't apart.

* * *

Tori lay on her side on the couch. After watching numerous movies, both her and Andre decided to call it night. After all, Andre had to work in the morning. Since she would have nothing to do tomorrow, Tori figured she'd call Cat and ask her if she wanted to have a girls' day out. Surrounding herself with friends would help her take her mind off of-

_'Jade.'_

Tori felt her stomach twist in knots. The thought of said girl made her feel like crying all over again. She missed her terribly. She missed the warmth of Jade's body, her soothing caresses, her sweet words.

But along with those pleasant memories came the unwanted ones.

Tori remembered Jade's constant lies, the arguments, the nights she spent crying by herself as Jade would storm out of their house for days on end, only to come back and keep to herself about where she had gone. She remembered it all.

Tori shook her head, she refused to let her thoughts about Jade plague her mind. While it hurt that she wouldn't allow herself to think of Jade, she knew it was necessary. If she was to move on, she'd have to start by forgetting about her. Sure, it would be a slow process, but she'd get there, one step at a time.

* * *

Jade knows Tori is ready to move on. It hurts her more than anything. She isn't ready to let her go now, and she doesn't think she ever will be. She decides she'll try to win Tori back. She has to.

Jade refuses to acknowledge it, but without her, she has nothing.

And subconsciously, she knows that without her, she is nothing.

Jade doesn't want to let Tori go. She doesn't want her to move on, she doesn't want her to leave her behind, she doesn't want to be forgotten. She cannot, _will not_, allow it.

Jade doesn't want to let Tori go. So she doesn't.

_'I agreed to always love you, but never enough to set you free.'_

* * *

Months have passed, and Jade assumes that Tori will still come back, but she never does. She thinks Tori is missing out on something rare, something special, something unique.

She thinks she's too good to be left behind.

But Jade isn't too good to be left behind.

She is too good at being left behind.

* * *

Author's Note: Sad little one shot isn't it? Anyways, I'm pretty sure you guys are wondering why I named this story **Contract**. It's because in Jade's mind, her relationship with Tori is essentially a contract, which is why she refuses to let go. In her mind, because Tori agreed to date her, they're bound together. Not sure if it makes sense to you guys ._. But other than that, let me know what you guys thought of this!

P.S. "I agreed to always love you but never enough to set you free." is from the song Trimmed and Burning by Built To Spill and the line "She is too good at being left behind" is a reference to one of the chapters in **prends garde à toi **by vis-et-decus


End file.
